4. Exaggerated Movements of the Lips, Jaw or Tongue
Since apraxia is a dysfunction of one’s motor abilities connected to speech, one may need to make more effort to speech than the usual person. This means that someone with apraxia may open their mouth widely and close it before saying a word or jerk their jaw around while trying to speak. They may thrust their tongue forward in an awkward fashion and may not say words correctly because of these exaggerated movements.
These motions are the way someone with apraxia tries to compensate for their difficulty speaking. They may make too much effort to move their face, jaw, and tongue in order to get the words out, even though these motions may be making their speech less intelligible. A physical therapist can help get someone with apraxia out of the habit of excessive movement.